The present invention generally relates to a mobile bullet resistant personnel shield and especially to a hand maneuverable wheeled bullet resistant shield for use by security forces, police, militia and by the military to protect individuals from gunfire.
Police and security forces all over the world are confronted with the problem of controlling crowds and demonstrations which at times become violent. The military is faced with protecting military personnel from bullets and shrapnel while in exposed positions. Wars, insurrections, riots, and police actions of various kinds often involve small arms fire and projectiles in which people are often injured or wounded while in an exposed position. Security forces typically have at their disposal helmets, billy sticks, and hand-held protective shields. These have not always been found satisfactory when crowds become very large or exceedingly aggressive and throw objects, such as bottles and stones, and in the face of shots from small arms. Police and militia often also are faced with buildings having one or more individuals having small arms taking refuge in the buildings and are required to cross an open area to approach the building.
In the past, there have been a number of designs for portable shields having gun ports and the like which could be used to provide an offensive or defensive stronghold that could accommodate several people and protect such people from gunfire at least from a frontal direction. Some examples of these type of shields can be seen in the following U.S. Patents: Chaires U.S. Pat. No. 4,245,546; Zevuluni et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,781,101; Loeser, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 2,209,654; Korn, U.S. Pat. No. 1,308,286; Hack, U.S. Pat. No. 1,253,964; Wait, U.S. Pat. No. 4,192,216; Wasylowich, U.S. Pat. No. 1,274,645; Poniatowski, U.S. Pat. No. 1,267,588; Larnell, U.S. Pat. No. 1,281,400; and Clark, U.S. Pat. No. 1,304,541. The invention of ballistic fiber, such as Dupont's Kevlar, made possible modern body armor that is worn by law enforcement officers and military personnel. The lives of more than 2,000 police officers have been saved by wearing soft flexible body armor that covers the torso. Type II body armor is designed to protect against 9 mm, 0.357 magnum, and 0.45 Auto. Although the layers of fiber are able to prevent most bullets fired from pistols from penetrating, the impact of the projectile causes the fabric to bend inward against the body, creating blunt trauma injuries. Blunt trauma injuries in areas near vital organs can be a serious or even life threatening problem. Body armor designed to protect against higher threat levels, such as 12 gauge rifled slugs and high powered rifles, is very cumbersome and is not worn on a day to day basis by police officers. In addition to this limitation, the body armor usually worn by police officers offers no protection at all for the head, neck, arms and legs.
Almost every public building in America complies with handicap access laws. In the event of a terrorist threat or shooting incident, an operator using this shield will be able to rapidly and safely move throughout schools, shopping malls, government buildings or airports using existing wheelchair ramps. It will also be possible to travel in elevators to secure buildings floor by floor. We are not aware of any other design that offers such a high degree of protection and mobility. The handheld shields used by SWAT teams are mobile, but offer no protection from attacks on either side, overhead or from frontal attacks to the legs. Currently, there is a huge gap between these handheld shields, and heavy, massive armored vehicles that can not move through a small alley, a wooded area, between parked cars or enter a building. The shield does not use any type of motor or electronics and so is reliable and requires very little maintenance.
The device described herein uses ballistic fabric stretched over a light metal frame on wheels. This arrangement is highly mobile, offers head to toe protection and eliminates the problem of blunt trauma. This design has several distinct advantages. Unlike other designs that employ curved metal, the ballistic fabric covering will not cause bullets to ricochet off the surface, an extremely dangerous situation. Another advantage is that ballistic material is resistant to fire. The shield will provide considerable protection against burning debris. Perhaps most important, the lightweight and large wheels will allow the operator to move at running speed across parking lots, down narrow alleys and even inside buildings, such as shopping malls, schools, and airport terminals. Because there are only two wheels that move independently of each other, the shield has a zero degree turning radius.
This invention relates to improvements in mobile shields for protection against gunfire, shrapnel and other projectiles which use a ballistic fabric stretched over a light metal frame and wheels.